The Girl by the Window.
Syaroan Li casually drummed his fingers against the smooth granite counter. He leaned against it absentmindedly, trying not to stare at the girl seated in front of the cafe's main window. Morning light radiated down upon her, highlighting the honey tones in her auburn hair. Her emerald eyes stared off into the distance. A book was propped open near her opened palm. Steam rose from an untouched cup of coffee, that she had ordered from him only a few minutes ago.
He wasn't sure why he felt drawn to her, perhaps it was her eyes, his favorite shade of green. He shook his head, no that wasn't it. For as long as he had worked at Hugs with Mugs, a local coffee and sweets cafe, she had appeared every Tuesday morning and ordered the same cup of coffee. The order required extra sugar and cream, something he never forgot. She always sat in the same chair by the window, but the book, it was never the same. In all these months he'd barely managed to say more than a few words to her. When she smiled at him in her warm and caring way his heart skipped a beat. Syaoran's mind would become clumsy, and he'd nearly forgot how to work his own jaw.
The door to the cafe slid open, bells ringing, dragging Syaoran's attention away from the girl for a moment. A new customer walked in, long black hair curled down to her lower back. The girl's eyes widened when they spotted the girl sitting at the table by the window.
"Sakura-chan?", The dark haired girl's voice rang like a song.
Sakura so that was her name. Syaoran grabbed a rag and began to wipe down the already clean counter, just to give his hands something to do.
"Tomoyo-chan", Sakura greeted the other girl, lifting her eyes away from the window "What are you doing here?"
"I thought that was you...I've been worried. Your father said he hadn't heard from you in over a month." Tomoyo's lip trembled. "I know it's been hard on you, but you can't just run away from us. We're your family."
Sakura's eyes turned solemn. "I just need some time. I'm sorry to worry you Tomoyo-chan. I just wanted to be alone for a while"
"I understand," Tomoyo watched the other girl with a heavy heart. "But don't forget you can lean on us."
Sakura nodded and managed to give the other girl one for her glowing smiles. "Don't worry I will be just fine."
"Sakura…just please call me soon alright? That's all I ask."
Sakura traced the cover of her book with the edges of her delicate fingers, circling again and again. For a moment she didn't speak, then she turned to the other girl, eyes staring at her intently. "I promise, I will call you soon."
Tomoyo's lips edged upward, happy at the response. "I wish I didn't have to, but I have to go. I'm late for a meeting. Just please don't take too long."
"I won't," Sakura assured, but her voice held a slight tremor.
Tomoyo slipped back out of the door without ordering a thing. The cafe's belles jingled signaling her exit, then all became quiet once more. The cafe was empty except for Syaoran and the girl by the window. The girls' conversation had intrigued him. It sounded like like him she was hiding from her own family. He had taken on this job as a means to support himself once he decided to sever ties with his own family, of course, he couldn't say for sure how similar their situations actually were.
Sakura slipped her fingers around the handle of her coffee cup. She lifted it to her lips and blew at the steam. As she took a sip she closed her eyes, for a second the warm smile that she had held onto since the other girl's entrance slipped. A pained expression blossomed across her face, and when she opened her eyes Syaoran could see nothing but hurt swirling in them. Her fingers trembled and the cup tumbled out of her grasp. Before she could react hot liquid splattered onto the front of her yellow sundress.
Syaoran jumped to attention and reached for the towels under the counter. Sakura remained frozen staring at the broken cup, glass scattered across the black and white tiled floor. Tears stung her eyes, but the girl did not cry. Syaoran raced across the cafe's floor. He reached the stunned girl with fresh towels in had. When Sakura noticed his presence she jumped up, clearly startled, and bent over to clean up the shards of glass.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered as she reached for the pieces of shattered porcelain.
"Don't worry," Syaoran mumbled. "Let me take care of this."
He glanced down at her hands and noticed they were an angry red, scolded by the coffee. He brushed his hands over hers, easing them away from the danger of the broken glass. His heart felt like it would burst from the touch, but the concern he felt for her helped keep his nerves under control. She reached once again for the glass, but he shook his head at her. His amber eyes met emerald, and the girl from the window blushed a light shade of pink.
"It's fine," He assured her once again. "Come with me, you're hurt. This can be cleaned up later."
Syaoran wrapped his fingers around the girl's thin wrists, she unfolded her long legs from under her, and reluctantly she stood to follow him. He took her into the back of the coffee shop pulling her towards a sink. He turned the faucet on, and cool water flowed into the basin. Syaoran pulled her hands into the water and hoped it would provide Sakura some relief from her burns. The girl watched as the cold water brushed against her burnt fingers.
Syaoran left her at the sink while he searched for the first aid kit. He was sure there was some cream for burns inside. He pulled the metal first aid case out from a wooden cabinet and pried the clasp off. Opening the container he quickly found the medicine he needed and hurried back over to the girl still standing at the sink. Cool water still cascaded down her fingers.
"Here," Syaoran held out the tube of burn cream out to her. "This should help."
She nodded at took the medicine from his outreached hands.
"Thank you." She whispered. "I'm not always the most coordinated. I'm sorry to cause you so much trouble."
"It's no problem." He told her. "Really, no one has even been in the shop today. Tuesday's are our slow days."
Sakura dried her hands off with a towel and rubbed the ointment over her burned hands. "I know," she replied. "That's why I like to come in on Tuesday's. It's so quiet, and no one ever bothers me."
He smiled at her, his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. "Tuesday's are my favorite days too. It gets too crowded on the weekend in here."
"Do you work here a lot?" Sakura asked. "I know you're always here on Tuesday, but I'm never here any other day of the week."
He nodded. "I work here quite a bit, but I go to classes at the university so I still only work part-time."
The bells to the cafe chimed signaling the arrival of another customer. Syaoran glanced up at the door leading back out into Hug with Mug's front room. He turned back around and his eyes met Sakura's.
"Stay here." He told her. "I'll be right back."
Sakura shook her head. "Oh no, I should be going. I'll follow you back out."
Syaoran opened the door to see Takashi Yamazaki standing in the empty shop. He had his hands on his hips, while he stared at the mess that still had yet to be cleaned up. Takashi also worked in the coffee shop along with his girlfriend Chiharu Mihara, whoes family actually owned the shop. They worked during the day shift while Syaoran usually worked nights into early mornings. It has been Takashi who had actually helped get Chiharu's family to hire him on. The two of them had once had classes together before Takashi had transferred to night classes so he could help Chiharu with the coffee shop during the day. The coffee shop stayed open 24 hours a day and was usually a popular spot for college students to hang out and study.
Takashi turned when he heard the door open. "Li-kun what happened in here?" He asked. "It looks like someone threw a tantrum."
"It was an accident," Syaoran replied quickly. "I'll get it cleaned up before I get out of here."
Takashi's arrival meant Syaoran's shift was now over. The thin man shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'll get it cleaned up before Chiharu-chan shows up. You need to get out of here and get some sleep anyway."
Sleep wasn't something Syaoran was about to get any time soon, but he nodded in agreement. Sakura peaked her head from behind Syaoran's shoulder. Takashi's eyes lit up when he saw her.
"Ah, Sakura-chan! What are you doing here?" Takashi stared at the girl and Sakura smiled.
"I came here for coffee. It was my fault...the glass I mean. I dropped it. He was helping me." Sakura stammered and turned to Syaoran. She glanced down at his name tag. "I'm afraid I don't actually know your name...Li-kun." She read off his last name.
"Syaoran Li," He told her. "And what is yours? Then we'll be properly introduced."
"Sakura Kinomoto." Her name was beautiful.
Takashi laughed. "Well as long as you didn't throw it at him because he did something he shouldn't have. Though behaving improperly doesn't seem like Li-kun's style."
Sakura blushed scarlet. "Oh no," Sakura exclaimed. "He has treated me very well. You know me Takashi-kun. I'm very accident prone."
Takashi nodded. "That is true. This reminds me of that time in high school you tripped and knocked over the entire band during practice."
Sakura's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.
"Well Li-kun, you should get out of here." Takashi went behind the counter and found a broom. "Don't worry about this mess you two. I'll clean it up."
"I should be leaving as well." Sakura glanced between both men. "It was good seeing you again Takashi-kun, please tell Chiharu-chan I said hello. Li-kun thank you so much for the help today. I'm sorry for any trouble I have caused you." Sakura spun on her heels and began to head for the doors.
"Wait, Sakura-chan, Why doesn't Li-kun walk you home? You don't live far right and you seem a little not like yourself today."
"No...but I wouldn't want to bother him. I'll be fine on my own."
Syaoran stepped across the coffee shop and grabbed the door for her. "I don't mind. Where do you live?" There was something strange about this girl. He felt a need to protect her. Maybe it was all that time they spent together in the coffee shop never speaking that caused it. He couldn't be sure, but he wanted to make sure she made it to her own home safely.
"There is no need." She tried to politely protest, but he followed her out of Hugs with Mugs anyway.
"Yamazaki-kun asked me to escort you home, and he's my bosses boyfriend so I better do what he said." Syaoran eyed her nervously.
Sakura smiled faintly back at him. "Fine if that's the case then you may walk me home."
Syaoran walked on her right side against the street. The direction they were going was also the direction he would have walked to his own apartment so taking her home didn't seem too out of the way, besides he had always wanted to talk to Sakura and now he was finally getting his chance.
"How do you know Yamazaki-Kun?" he asked her as they passed a local diner and a gift shop.
"Oh, we grew up together. We went to the same elementary school, middle, and high school. Same with Chiharu-chan, we all spent a lot of time together back then. We've all gotten busier the older we've gotten. I'm afraid I don't see them all that much anymore, though I suppose I should stop in and say hi to them more than I do. What about you?"
"I had a class with Yamazaki-kun before he changed to night classes. He's the one who told me about the job opening. Do you go to the university too?"
Sakura nodded. "I'm going to school to be a teacher. What about you?"
"Business school, my family owns a large company, though I want to see if I can make it on my own without their influence."
"That's brave of you." Sakura stopped walking and turned to look him in the eyes. The morning sun had risen higher and it brought out the highlights in her hair. "I'm sure it would be much easier to get their help."
"It would," Syaoran confirmed. "But getting help from them would mean giving up so many things. I've decided that this is something I need to do on my own."
"I'm glad. It sounds like you got it figured out." She beamed at him. "Thanks for walking me home."
Syaoran had been so intrigued by their conversation that he hadn't noticed that they had arrived at their destination. He swiveled his head to look around and noticed that Sakura lived not very far from him at all.
"Well, this is odd." He reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "We're neighbors I think.
"Oh really?"
"Yes, I live there." Syaoran pointed at the apartment building directly across the street. It was a towering brick structure with three floors. The lawn was neatly landscaped unlike the apartment building on the other side of the street.
The apartment building where Sakura resided was a little bit rundown. He had actually heard talks of his own apartment building buying the property and bulldozing it, of course, those were probably just rumors. He hopped for Sakura's sake that wasn't the case. It was hard to find an apartment or even a dorm near the school in an acceptable price range. Most people had to live with a roommate or two to even manage it. He was lucky since he had a small fund, that his deceased father had left behind for school use. It was money the rest of his family wasn't able to take away from him. It wasn't much but it helped pay for his lodging and for a good portion of his school. He didn't want help from his family but using the money his dead father had set up for him for this purpose didn't feel like cheating. He made sure to work enough hours so he wouldn't deplete the account before he was finished with school.
"I should go now." Sakura turned to watch him, her eyes sad again. Had he missed something? Syaoran wasn't sure what had brought her mood down so suddenly. "I'm sure I'll see you around...definitely Tuesday."
Syaoran nodded and watched her walk to the dilapidated apartment building. "See you soon, Kinomoto-san."
He wished she didn't have to go, and that he didn't have to leave either. He'd like to talk to her all day. Syaoran wished he hadn't wasted so many opportunities to talk to her sooner. At least he knew he'd see her for sure...always on Tuesday mornings.
Authors Note:
I had a dream...and I just had to write this story. I hope you enjoy it. This one will be more of a fluffy/sad story with no magic. There will be some sad topics like death, depression, and things like that.